About four weeks ago, I noticed three small red bumps on my left shin. I simply chalked it up to abscesses and rolled my eyes. Abscesses are common for me; I've been having them off and on for the last ten to twelve years or so. Link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscess. It hurt to walk and move my leg, but I persevered, trying to continue my duties as wife and mom as best I could, believing they would pop and drain and I would be done with them. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha. Three or four days later, I woke up to find they had disappeared and I could barely use my left ankle. Weird, I thought. I shrugged my shoulders and limped out to the kitchen to start making Joce's and my breakfasts. For the next week, I refused help, believing, again ignorantly, that it would go away. General Conference weekend (April 4th and 5th, for those of you who don't know) I finally accepted defeat. My father-in-law gave me crutches to use and my mother-in-law offered some essential oils to rub into the sore spots and herbs to help heal it. A day or so later, everyone was pretty much at the same conclusion, it was bursitis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursitis. Keep in mind we hadn't seen a doctor. The remedies included elevating my foot, putting ice on it, and using compression bandages. I did all those things but nothing happened. the pain became worse and my ankle started to become discolored on both sides. I officially started to freak out. What if I'd waited too long and it had become infected?
One week goes by. I go to church on crutches and everyone is like, "Ooh, Megan, what happened?" I tell them what we suspected and go on my 'merry' way. Thane takes us home and the next morning I get a phone call. It's one of the ladies from church (one of my Visiting Teachers). I love her to death; she is so flippin' cute. And wonderful, as it turns out. She had come on her monthly visit the week before, when I wasn't using crutches inside the condo. She had offered her help and, as I stated before, I had refused, telling her I would let her know when I needed her help. Look at the pride on this girl, right? So, she called on this particular Monday, stating she would take Jocelyn the next day (Tuesday) and she would also call the Compassionate Service Leader, Michie Hokanson (I hope I spelled that right). Fifteen minutes later, I received a phone call from Michie, informing me that I had sitters lined up for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as dinners for those same nights, and that Michie was coming within five minutes to pick up Jocelyn for the day. Wow, that was fast. I rushed around getting Jocelyn dressed and myself presentable. And so the week progressed in much the same manner, with Jocelyn leaving in the morning with one of the women from the ward and a meal coming in at night.
During the day when Jocelyn had left, I noticed that my right leg began showing much the same symptoms of whatever was wrong with my left foot. Ooh, boy. Here we go again. It didn't take long for the right foot to fall into disrepair. By Friday night, I couldn't walk to the bathroom. Thane carried me back to bed and announced we were going to the doctor the following morning. Sigh Of Relief. I woke up the next morning to a foreign voice in my condo. My mother-in-law. Thane isn't in bed and I can hear Jocelyn running around.
"Thane!"
A few seconds go by, then his head pops around the door. "Yeah?"
"What's going on?"
"Well, my mom is going to take Jocelyn and we're going to the doctor."
Okay, great. He planned all this so Jocelyn could occupied while we went to the doctor.
I laid in bed, waiting for him to help me up so I could get dressed. Instead, he brings me my clothes and dresses me. He carries me out to the car, into the Instacare (the same place we took Jocelyn that fateful Sunday, see below) and checks us in. Half an hour later, we're in a room talking to the doctor.
"So, what's going on?"
"Well," I began, "we think it's bursitis, but now that it has started on my right foot, I don't know anymore. I've been looking on-line and things aren't adding up." I pulled up my pant leg and showed him the little bump. "This is what happened right before my left ankle went out. I think it's an abscess, but I'm not sure of that. I've had them off and on for years."
"Well, it looks like Erythema nodosum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythema_nodosum. But let's do some torture just to see if it's an abscess. I'll be right back."
A minute passed and he comes back in with a needle and alcohol swab. A swipe of the swab and in goes the needle. Quickly, the doctor removes the offending utensil and blood comes rushing out. He explains that as soon as he stuck the needle in, he knew it wasn't an abscess.
"Okay," I said, "so what's what ever you think it is?"
"Well, no one really knows where it comes from, or what starts it, but we do think it has something to do with another condition. Do you have any problems with your stomach or...?"
"I have ulcerative colitis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis." A smile crossed the doctor's face. Basically, what I gain from that is we have a basis from which to go from and further diagnose my foot issue. The doctor goes to the computer to further look up what he's telling me about and reads off a few of the bits and pieces of what it is. He prescribes steroids to help the colitis get under control and from there it will also help the swelling and pain in my feet to go down.
And there you have it. The nutshell version of my weird, crazy-insert your adjective of choice here-health issues. Sorry. I have a strange tendency of writing too much. Ask my mother. I also talk too much. Any more questions, email me and I'll do the best I can. Love to everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment